John Boehner Fed Up With Conservative Base

On Thursday, Republican House Speaker John Boehner attacked the conservative base for their indiscriminate opposition to the latest bipartisan budget deal, saying they had lost their credibility. According to Huff Post, conservative groups such as The Club for Growth, Heritage Action for America, FreedomWorks opposed the bill immediately after it was released. In fact, some did so even before it was released.

“This budget agreement takes giant steps in the right direction,” Boehner said. “But when groups come out and criticize something they’ve never seen, you begin to wonder just how credible those actions are.”

Boehner accused the conservative groups of “using the Americans people.” In particular, Boehner accused the groups of pushing the Republican party into a dubious plan to shut down Obamacare. “Frankly I think they’re misleading their followers. I think they’re pushing our members in places where they don’t want to be. And frankly, I just think that they’ve lost all credibility.” he said. Boehner was also not amused when one group that was behind the plan admitted that they knew it would never work. “Are you kidding me?” Boehner yelled.

Boehner showed signs of frustration on Wednesday when some groups opposed the budget even before the details were out. “Yesterday when the criticism was coming, frankly I thought it was my job and my obligation to stand up for conservatives here in the Congress who want more deficit reduction, stand up for the work that Chairman Ryan did,” Boehner said.

The proposed budget, if passed, would set funding levels for the next two years. Over the course of those two years, the budget would increase federal government spending by $63 billion. The deal was brokered by House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan together with Senate Budget Committee Chair Patty Murray. The deal would help increase savings and avoid future congressional fights over money. It is for this reason that Boehner says he doesn’t understand why anyone can oppose such a deal. “That’s exactly what this bill does, and why Conservatives wouldn’t vote for this or criticize the bill is beyond any recognition I could come up with.”